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Moonlight Heartbreak (One-shot, G)

Like, omigod, guys, you should all take this fic TOTALLY seriously, because it took me such a LONG TIME and I put SO MUCH EFFORT into making the characters as REALISTIC as possible. I'm afraid some people will MISCONSTRUE this as a PARODY, but this is ABSOLUTELY not so. It is a birthday present for my good friend Kappa/Chibi, who loves Steven almost as much as the main character of this story does, if not more.

Oh, and on a slightly more serious note, please ignore the heavy religious subtext.

Moonlight Heartbreak

“You're beautiful,” Steven whispered, running his ice-cold hand across Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia's cheek, which was as white and perfectly shaped as the moon that shone down from the night sky above. She shivered involuntarily, her body reacting as much to his touch as it did to the sound of his voice. Steven's voice was her favourite sound in the world; it was soft, low, and unbelievably, agonisingly beautiful. “So exquisite . . .” he murmured, his perfect, scuplted face harshly defined by the moonlight. It was as if his features had been crafted from marble sent from above.

“No, Steven . . . it's not possible!” she said, her majestic turquoise eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “I am to be the sacrifice! You know that!” It rent her heart in two just to say the words, for there was nothing in the world that she wanted more than to stay with Steven, enfolded in his warm embrace, forever.

“You are too special to be sacrificed,” he breathed, a slight catch in his voice. “Too important to this world, and . . .” He sighed, a rush of hot air that warmed her soul. “Too important to me.”

“I have to do it, Steven,” Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia said quietly, forcing herself to step out of his embrace. Oh, how she longed to lay her head upon his broad, strong chest and forget about all responsibility, all circumstance and ceremony, just remaining by his side forever. “I know that in our past lives, when I was the queen, I was your lover, but . . .”

“But what?” Steven demanded, his anguished voice rising slightly, though his powerful grey-blue eyes still refused to display any emotion. “But nothing, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia! We were meant to be together!”

“Arceus has spoken to me,” she murmured, hands desperately clutching at her upper arms in a vain effort to recreate the warmth that she was already missing. It was a frigid night, and her breath spiralled out of her mouth in clouds. “Only I can do this, Steven!” Glittering, perfect tears began to form in the corners of her sapphire eyes, hovering as if uncertain whether they should fall or not.

“To hell with that!” Steven declared, his chest rising and falling as he pleaded with her. He stretched out his hand, and all she wanted was to give in and take it. “If the world ends, it will end with you and I in one another's arms!”

Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia's delicately curved bosom rose and fell as she stood at the top of the stairs to Stair Pillar, tears beginning to spill freely down her cheeks, managing to accent her perfect complexion rather than mar it. As she wiped them away with a shaking hand, a sudden gust of wind flared her waist-length silver hair up behind her where the moonlight caught it tenderly, making an iridescent, shimmering halo. She swallowed, and suddenly the only sounds in the world were the pounding of their two hearts, beating in synchronicity, forever fated to be as one, yet denied ultimate release by the cruel vicissitudes of fortune.

“Steven Stone,” she said, making a great effort to stop her tears. “After everything you have done for me, and everything I promised I would do for you, it seems selfish of me to end it all here. But I have to. Arceus gave me this time with you, and for that I will be eternally grateful. But this has to be the end!”

“It can't be, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia!” Steven, with what seemed to be a great effort, took a step upward, placing himself on the top step next to her. He did not touch her, as if afraid of what would happen.

“Don't, Steven!” she begged, stumbling backwards towards the altar at the far end of the enormous, broken hallway. She knew he couldn't follow her, and while she desperately wanted to, she could not ignore her destiny. “You can't do this!”

“Like hell I can't!” Steven growled, his face contorting with pain as he fought against the invisible bonds holding him back.

Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia's breathing was coming raggedly; she didn't trust her lungs to keep working much longer. Her heartbeat was becoming erratic, and she knew the time was near.

A shockwave blasted through Spear Pillar, seeming to shatter her mind and tear her body in two. At the same time, the light, melodic, yet incomprehensibly powerful sound of a flute seemed to emanate from somewhere inside her head, simultaneously binding the world together and tearing it apart. In that moment, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia knew what it was to be God.

IT IS TIME. The voice was powerful and ancient, thrumming and reverberating through every fibre of her being. Though it pained her endlessly, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia tore her glowing azure eyes away from Steven and looked up, towards the end of Spear Pillar.

From the heavy stone altar extended an enormous staircase that seemed to be made of pure, golden light. It was dazzling to look at, almost blinding, and yet she forced herself to gaze upon its pure, unadulterated majesty. From behind her, she heard Steven gasp, a beautiful sound that she longed to be able to hear again and again.

COME, CHOSEN ONE. YOU HAVE DONE WELL.

“I-I have?”

ASCEND THE JUDGEMENT STAIR, CHOSEN ONE.

Nervously, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia stepped forward. She had to make herself leave Steven behind. It seemed to take an age to reach the altar, setting one foot blindly in front of the other, over and over. Standing before the massive slab of brown stone, it seemed to tower over her.

ASCEND.

“How am I supposed to do that?” she murmured. The diaphanous, whispery silver dress she was wearing – although accentuating her curves perfectly – would hardly allow her to climb onto a two-metre high altar.

“Can I help you with that, your majesty?” Steven's voice echoed strangely beside her, and she whipped her head around to look. There was nobody there; Steven still stood, helpless, at the top of the stairs. Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia's legs trembled as she looked at him. She had spent her whole life growing accustomed to the fact that she would not, could not have anybody special to her . . . until he had appeared. He was the one thing that gave her existence meaning. He was the one . . . that gave her the strength to go on. But how cruelly ironic it was that the strength he gave her would be used to leave him behind.

Taking a deep, tremulous breath and no longer making any effort to hide her tears, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia raised her arms above her head. She felt her feet lift off the ground, a sparkling, magical silver aura enveloping her entire body, tingling like electricity across her skin. Slowly, she rose above the altar and began to hover up towards the glowing stairs. Her feet never quite touched the steps as she ascended the Judgement Stair, gliding upwards with her silver dress billowing ephemerally behind her.

Soon enough, she found herself standing at the top of the staircase. She wasn't sure where her mysterious powers of levitation had come from – perhaps it was Arceus' doing, or perhaps it was just another of her innate skills that she had never known she had. The top of the staircase connected to what seemed to be a single, sparkling pane of glass that lay horizontally in the air some distance above Spear Pillar. Stepping forward, she wondered if it would break and drop her to the ground below – it was incredibly thin and fragile-looking – but it held. Through the glass she could just make out Steven, standing just at the top of the first set of stairs they had climbed from Mt. Coronet.

YOU HAVE COME AT LAST. A shiver running through her entire body, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia raised her cobalt eyes to behold her God.

“Arceus . . .” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat. Before she could stop herself, she went on: “Why must I do this? I was so happy with Steven!” She caught herself too late, clapping her hand over her mouth in a vain effort to prevent the words from slipping out.

YOU ARE THE SACRIFICE. IT IS TRADITION. IF YOU NEGLECT THIS DUTY, THE WORLD WILL COME TO AN END.

“I . . . I know,” she whispered, her cerulean eyes lowered, “but I just wish it didn't have to be. Why is it me?”

IT IS YOU BECAUSE IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN YOU.

“Wh-what? What do you mean, it has always been me?”

YOU REMEMBER YOUR PREVIOUS LIFE, DO YOU NOT?

“Yes . . . I was a queen. And Steven was there, too, even if he wasn't Steven. But what does that have to do with anything?”

YOU ARE CONTINUALLY REBORN AND DESTROYED, A PERFECT CONSTRUCTION BY THE THOUSAND HANDS OF A PERFECT GOD.

“Do you mean . . .”

YES. THE REASON YOU DO NOT REMEMBER THE END OF YOUR LIFE AS QUEEN IS BECAUSE YOU MUST NOT KNOW THIS.

“So- so why tell me now?” she asked despairingly.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU ARE NEXT REBORN, YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER THIS EVENT. YOU WILL REMEMBER NOTHING OF YOUR ROLE IN THIS LIFE – ONLY THE LIFE ITSELF.

Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia fell to her knees on the glass floor of the Hall of Origin. “Will I . . . will I remember Steven?”

YES.

That was quite possibly the cruellest part. Tears rolling freely from her periwinkle-blue eyes, she gazed down at Spear Pillar below, not really seeing it. She could not imagine it: living a life without Steven, yet remembering exactly how marvellous he was.

“That sounds like . . . a load of bull to me,” came a groan from the staircase behind her.

Sudden, unbelievable hope welling up in her chest, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia spun around. “Steven! How did you get up here?”

“I . . .” he gasped, struggling to breathe. He was flat on the glass floor as if held there by some extreme force of gravity. “I had t-to get up here. Listen to me, Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia . . .” he choked out, his perfectly chiselled face distorted with pain as he clawed his way across the sparkling glass floor toward her.

“Steven, I . . . you're hurting yourself! Don't do this! Not for me!”

“Listen!” he hissed. “You don't need to do this! Are you not listening to what Arceus is saying? What possible purpose could there be for this?”

“But . . . since the beginning of my life, I have been told that my destiny is to give my life for the sake of the world! I resigned myself to that long ago! And why . . . if that was the case, why would Arceus lie?”

EXACTLY. THIS IS HOW IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN, AND HOW IT ALWAYS MUST BE. SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE FOR THE SECURITY OF THE WORLD.

“Lies!” Steven spat, struggling to pull himself to his hands and knees. “You don't need any sacrifice to keep the world safe!”

WHAT MAKES YOU SO SURE, INSIGNIFICANT MORTAL? I CREATED THIS WORLD; I KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE THE CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR ITS CONTINUED EXISTENCE.

“I know you're lying,” Steven said, his voice growing, “for that very reason. If you really are the all-powerful, omniscient being you would have us believe, there would be no reason for you to make a world like that. It seems to me that you just do this for the purpose of tormenting a pure, innocent girl!”

YOU IRRITATE ME, MORTAL, BUT I AM AMUSED. SO RIDDLE ME THIS . . . SO WHAT IF I DO? Arceus' voice grew to a thunderous roar, making the crystal floor vibrate.

YOU ARE NOT NEEDED. YOU CONTINUE TO EXIST IN THIS CYCLE OF DEATH AND REBIRTH ONLY BECAUSE IT AMUSES ME. ONCE AGAIN, IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO DIE. WORRY NOT, IMPUDENT MORTAL. WHEN YOU ARE NEXT REBORN, YOU WILL REMEMBER NONE OF THIS.

“Leave her . . . alone, you bastard!” Steven grunted, staggering to his feet despite the supernatural power that had to be bearing down on him with immeasurable force.

“That means nothing!” he panted fiercely, sweat trickling down his perfect face as it twisted with the effort of staying upright. “You . . . mean too much to me to just let this go by!”

IMPUDENT MORTAL! Arceus practically screamed, the impossible sonic strength of his booming voice drawing louring thunderclouds to whirl around the Hall of Origin. Lightning boomed and flashed, but it was nothing compared to the sound of the divine voice. YOU . . . DIE . . . FIRST!

A bolt of searing energy smashed through the air, blasting towards Steven at impossible speed.

“No!” Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia screamed, rushing forwards and throwing her arms wide. Arceus' attack crashed into her with an enormous flash of light and a clap of thunder.

“No!” Steven echoed, but just a split second later, the light dissipated, revealing Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia standing, unharmed, in front of him, a nimbus of silver light surrounding her body.

Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia waved her perfect hand, lifting the crushing weight off Steven's shoulders. He came to stand behind her, taking her by the shoulders in a gesture of support. With a final moment's hesitation, she lifted her hand once more, silver sparks and threads whirling around it. A blast of energy flew from the tips of her dainty fingers, straight towards Arceus. The bolt slammed into another, generated by Arceus himself as he sought to protect himself. The godly Pokemon was driven back, its spindly white legs skittering on the glass.

HOW!? WHY!? HOW IS IT THAT YOU CAN DO THIS?! he howled, stepping forward again. A GOD AM I, THE GOD WHO GAVE YOU LIFE! HOW IS IT THAT YOU STAND BEFORE ME LIKE AN EQUAL?

Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia's eyes – now glowing an electric cyan – flashed rebelliously. “You gave me your power, Arceus. You gave me, the Chosen One, the power of God, and I never realised it! Perhaps you thought you could overpower me because you were the original? But you're wrong, Arceus! I have one thing you will never have!”

AND WHAT IS THAT? Arceus demanded, firing more godly thunderbolts in her direction. She parried them all effortlessly with a flick of her wrist, causing the creator of the universe to howl in rage. THERE IS NO WAY YOU COULD EVER EVEN DREAM OF DEFEATING ME! I CREATED YOU! I AM YOUR MASTER!

“Perhaps you did create me,” Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia smiled, “but you will never be my master again, for I have a power on my side that even the vast scope of the universe cannot contain: love!” Bringing both hands up above her head, she summoned a massive ball of sparkling blue energy that seemed to suck the very air out of the atmosphere. A slight frown creased her exquisite face as she hurled it at Arceus.

The attack struck with a crash that shook the very foundations of the universe. Arceus screamed, a horrible, primordial scream that could only be drawn from the lungs of a dying god. The sound shattered the glass on which they stood, sending millions upon millions of tinkling, needle-sharp slivers zooming all around, but Alicia Melodia Fantasia Darkbladia – not even knowing what she was doing or, indeed, that she could do it – conjured up a bubble of silvery-blue energy around her and Steven, and the glass bounced off it harmlessly.

A little tired, she allowed the bubble to float them down to land on the top of Spear Pillar. As they alit upon the huge stone slab, a breeze swirled around their feet, brushing away the glass that had fallen there.